Owners manual asks them not to use pesticide. ( Let the
management take care of those problems.)

Lustron Homes
for MCS List

Susan Molloy is actively trying to acquire a number of
the Lustron homes for people with Multiple Chemical
Sensitivities. Susan can add you to a list of people
interested in getting a Lustron for health reasons. Susan
Molloy susanm@cybertrails.com

I'm a sufferer of Multiple Chemical
Sensitivity and I would be interested in this as non-toxic
housing to accommodate my disability. My chief interest in
Lustron homes is as MCS housing -a quiet crisis in the US right
now with some 50% of the current million or so sufferers of this
condition ending up homeless. Some other MCS patients have been
successful with Lustrons and there is growing interest in that
community. But I'm wondering about the logistics of restoring and
relocating such homes. Would readers of this forum be interested
in discussing this?

As I see it there are three stages to
this; dismantling the home and demolishing and cleaning up the
site, putting the 3000 or so Lustron components into some kind of
storage and performing restoration and replacement, and finally
reconstruction atop a newly built foundation - including new
wiring, radiant floor heating, and new insulation. There are a
few issues that need to be dealt with to make the homes suitable
as non-toxic housing. The original asphalt foundation seal has to
be replaced with something less toxic, new non-toxic flooring
must be used, the new insulation must be of a non-toxic type, the
humidity problem with the bathroom must be solved by adding an
exhaust fan, and all heating and appliances running on combustion
must be replaced with electric alternatives.

Here are my questions:

How many people and how much time is
required to dismantle and assemble one of these homes? I would
probably have to rely on volunteer labor to do this and getting
it together in Indiana, then later in one of the likely low
pollution regions (it's basically a choice of Arizona, New
Mexico, and Hawaii at present) when I'm located far away in New
Jersey would be a challenge.

How much storage space would one of
these homes require when dismantled? I have approximately 500sf
of empty basement space in my current location that could be used
for storing water-resistant materials (but nothing else)

What is typically involved in
restoration and how much time for the work is typical? I imagine
the process is similar to antique auto restoration in that it
basically involves cataloging, cleaning, repairing, and replacing
un-repairable parts from salvaged parts. I recall hearing of
places that specialize in the restoring and re-coating of Lustron
components. Part of this work would include some of the
modifications to suit non-toxic requirements -like fashioning a
sealed-top electric range that will fit in the form-factor of the
original range and adding a fan to the bathroom. Has anyone ever
put a duplicate of the original kitchen fan into the bathroom
using the same fittings?

The heating system replacement is
actually pretty easy when relying on hydronic radiant floor
heating powered by a compact on-demand water heater as it would
not require any changes to the original structure. But air
conditioning would be a more complicated prospect. I understand
that Lustron owners have had trouble using conventional
through-window and through-wall AC units for obvious reasons. But
a non-toxic house cannot use the conventional primitive ducted
HVAC hardware. A better alternative is the use of Mini-Split or
'ductless' AC systems which rely on an external heat pump linked
to in-room cooling registers by a small fluid line. Common
everywhere except the US, these are slowly becoming more readily
available and offer a variety of cooling register forms. But most
are retrofit mount units that are placed high on a wall or in the
ceiling. There would be far less modification than is needed for
typical HVAC but one still must cut holes in the panels -though I
think in a worst case scenario one could mount the register on a
wall using magnets with a hose link to the floor. There are,
however, some units which are made to fit into the space of
commercial office drop-ceilings and raised floor panel systems.
These could possibly be fit within the wall or ceiling space if a
special wall panel bezel were fashioned for them.

I understand that the original built-in
metal furniture was not porcelain coated like the panels but
painted and, of course, was prone to frequent re-painting with
whatever VOC-laden stuff was handy. Restoring these could be a
big problem. Normally, the only tolerable paints for a non-toxic
home are water based inorganic pigment paints which only work on
porous materials and baked enamels. What paints are commonly used
in restoring Lustron furniture and has baked enamel been used
before?

Use of remote power is another issue
that would have to be considered during restoration. One usually
has to go to fairly remote places to find low pollution and
affordable land in the US. Much of this land is beyond the reach
of utilities. There are a few options that can be explored here
but use of solar power, for both electric power and possibly for
water heating, is the most likely. Has anyone had experience
putting solar panels on the Lustron roof, or would relying on
separate solar mounts be better?

What is involved in typical replacement
foundation construction? Is the Lustron foundation relatively
simple or are there some special features to it and is there
anything that would complicate the use of radiant floor heating?

Answer: Lustron
will need around 800sf of storage and restoration work space when
disassembled and replacement foundation slabs with hydronic heat
tubing installed are estimated at about $3000 according to one
individuals experience -though, of course, that will vary with
region.

What alternative forms of insulation and
foundation seal are used in typical reconstruction? I understand
the homes originally used an asphalt foundation seal and this, of
course, cannot be used in a non-toxic home.

But any alternative must itself be
non-toxic. The same is true of the insulation. The most popular
form of insulation for non-toxic homes is Airkrete mineral foam,
a spray-in-place foam that has a consistency like stale angel
food cake. This should work fine with the metal panels as long as
there is a path of foam flow and a point to pipe it in. Airkrete
is so non-toxic one can actually eat it yet is immune to moisture
damage and is the most fire-resistant insulation available
-actually being used as lining in blast furnaces. The next most
popular type is isocyanaurate polyurethane spray-in-place foam
which has the same form of installation but has the two drawbacks
that it may stick to the metal panels like glue and it takes a
couple weeks of outgassing after initial installation before it
becomes non-toxic. Another option is chemical-free cotton batt
insulation which would be the easiest to install but is the most
susceptible to moisture and has low fire and pest resistance.
Does anyone have experience with these types of insulation in a
Lustron?

Anyone care to speculate on cost and on
the prospects of obtaining volunteer assistance from the Lustron
enthusiast community or history restoration community? Being
disabled, I have only SSI income and this is pretty meager to
work with. And I lack the physical ability to invest a lot of
sweat equity -especially where it concerns the use of chemicals
in any restoration work. Is this likely to be feasible for me, or
something only the well-off can manage? Any and all comments
appreciated.